$18.6M Longreach Water Security Project Enters Weir Construction

Construction has started on the first two Thomson River weirs

The Australian and Queensland governments announced on 16 September 2026 that construction had begun on five upgraded weirs along the Thomson River as part of the Longreach Water Security for Growth project. Work has started with demolition and reconstruction of Anabranch Weirs 1 and 2, which are expected to be completed during 2026 before the remaining three weirs progress in 2027.

The physical change is significant for the project because the weir package is the storage component of a wider program already advancing across Longreach’s network. Earlier phases have included smart-meter installation and replacement of ageing water mains. The latest milestone confirms that the river structures themselves are now in delivery.

Each of the five weirs is planned to be raised by one metre. Current government information says the combined increase will add about 900 ML of water-storage capacity along the Thomson River, strengthening supply reliability for residents, businesses and local industry.

The $18.6M program combines storage, mains renewal and smart metering

Program scope

A linked storage-and-efficiency package rather than a stand-alone weir job

The project is being led by Longreach Regional Council with support from the Australian and Queensland governments. Council funding documentation sets an estimated total project cost of about $18.59 million, comprising approximately $5 million from the Australian Government, about $7 million from Queensland and $6.6 million from Council.

The approved program scope includes rebuilding and raising five weirs by one metre, providing fish passage on the raised structures, installing household smart water meters, replacing ageing and failing water mains and establishing active leak-detection and repair measures.

The latest joint government update says more than 1,600 smart meters are being installed across the life of the program and about 3.2 kilometres of ageing mains replacement is well underway. The federal WISER program describes the Longreach package as both a storage and efficiency initiative, targeting additional storage while reducing water losses across the town network.

That integrated structure matters commercially. The project spans civil and hydraulic infrastructure, river structures, metering and network renewal rather than a single discrete construction interface. It also means progress can occur across several workfronts at different times, even when no new headline procurement event is announced.

The current delivery sequence is clear through 2027

Construction pathway

Two Anabranch weirs first, three remaining structures next

The 16 September release identifies a staged construction sequence. Anabranch Weirs 1 and 2 are the first active structures, with demolition and reconstruction expected to be completed this year. The three remaining Thomson River weirs are then expected to progress during 2027.

That sequencing allows Longreach to advance the river works while smart-meter and water-main activity continues across the broader program. It also gives suppliers and contractors a defined watch horizon: the project is no longer waiting for a construction start, but completion of the first two structures and mobilisation onto the remaining three are still future delivery milestones.

BBI has not found a public release setting out individual contract values for each weir, the precise delivery split between structures, or a detailed package schedule. Those details should be treated as unconfirmed until published by Council, government or an authorised procurement channel.

Water security is being built through both storage and loss reduction

The Longreach project is not relying on storage expansion alone. Raising the weirs increases the volume that can be held along the Thomson River, while smart metering and mains renewal aim to improve how effectively that water is managed once it enters the urban system.

The Australian Government’s WISER package says the Longreach program is intended to reduce water losses by about 245 ML per year through efficiency improvements. Smart meters give Council and customers better visibility of consumption and leaks, while replacement of ageing mains reduces physical losses and reliability risk.

The combination is particularly important in a drought-prone regional setting. Additional river storage can improve buffer capacity, but network efficiency determines how much of that stored water can be preserved for productive and community use. The program therefore connects source storage, distribution assets and household-level monitoring into one resilience strategy.

Regional impact

Infrastructure aimed at reliability, resilience and future growth

Longreach Regional Council has positioned the program as a long-term investment in liveability and economic resilience. Reliable water supply underpins households, tourism, service businesses and local industry, while improved drought preparedness reduces the operational uncertainty created by prolonged dry periods.

The program also sits within the broader Queensland WISER package, which targets water-security and efficiency improvements across multiple regional centres. Longreach is one of the largest individual packages in that statewide group and combines both river and urban-network works.

For contractors, the signal is delivery continuity rather than a fresh tender release

Construction activity creates a practical watch point for civil, water-infrastructure and regional service businesses, but the public record reviewed for this article does not support describing new packages as open or awarded. The safest commercial interpretation is that the program has entered an active delivery phase with more work programmed through 2027.

Capabilities typically relevant to this kind of program can include demolition and reconstruction of river structures, concrete and reinforcement works, temporary works, dewatering and river-interface management, surveying, plant and earthworks support, hydraulic and pipework services, metering, network renewal, environmental controls and logistics. These are capability areas inferred from the confirmed physical scope, not confirmed procurement packages.

The next stronger commercial signals would be any Council or Queensland procurement notice for the remaining weirs, subcontractor engagement, supplier-registration activity, named contractor appointments or published package scopes. Until then, the confirmed story is construction progress and the staged continuation of the program.

BBI readers can also follow the broader Water Infrastructure and Project Watch coverage for Queensland project movements.

Confirmed now versus what remains ahead

What industry should watch next